And that's not because of today's shambles, but events that have built up since January. We have seen a massive turnover in players, and we still need a good 5 or 6 to come in. But the worrying thing is these players have pretty much no experience at this level, and to ask ALL of them at the same time to kick on is a big ask. I really really fear we will end up being last seasons Rotherham, the whipping boys. I really feel for Hecky, for me he is the best thing at the club but unfortunately he just isn't being backed as well as he should be by the board. Losing him would spell disaster! Hopefully the players can prove me wrong and make a good start.
Yeah it's not looking good. What's more concerning for me is how bad we were after January, considering our team now is worse than that team. James, Roberts, Scowen, Watkins and Janko taken out, none of the replacements are a patch on them. The bank balance looks good though, so that's nice. Worried about this season.
I think that we've all got a right to be a little worried after a disappointing pre season. But on the other hand i dont think any of you could have predicted a first 6 months to the season that we had last year either. I suppose that the point that i'm trying to make is don't write them off too soon.
Not that I'm advocating we lose Hecky, but would losing him really be a disaster? What I mean is, if he can't work with what he's given then it's only a matter of time before our lot turn on him like they have with most of his predecessors. If our plan is going to come unstuck, it'll do so regardless of who's at the helm.
I think the cash in the bank probably looks pretty healthy by our standards. Let's say it's around £15m. Given that Mr Cryne has apparently been putting about £1m to £2m a year of his own money into the club to boost its working capital, my guess is that the vast majority of whatever cash the club now has will be used to replace the donations from Mr Cryne for however long it lasts or is bolstered by further player sales. The survival of the club, in whatever division, is the top priority. For what it's worth, I think the best we can hope for is to be a yo-yo club between League One and The Championship, and that this season will be on the downward trajectory...
Agreed John, I've a feeling it's going to be hard this season but I ain't going to write the lads off before the seasons started
Still not sure how the season will pan out as yet there's still additions to come in and the ones already here aren't bedded in yet imo. I think the op was worried last season if memory serves ,concerned we hadn't added quality to the promo squad.
Our team had no experience at this level this time last year and we were alreyt. I'm not saying we're going to be mint, but it's a bit premature to start being all doom and gloom.
The difference is that side had confidence and were a team, morale was high amongst players who were familiar with eachother. Now it feels like we have just scrambled a squad together with anyone cheap enough and hoping they kick on straight away. It ain't gonna happen!
Today was poor, clearly. It seemed like some players weren't interested; perhaps trying to avoid injury. But that's not acceptable reallly in any game. Whilst today was bad, we had numerous clear chances we should have taken. But I've seen some very poor play today; I've also seen some terrific play in other friendlies. But none of that matters for next week. Other shock results: Charlton 6-1 Ipswich, Chesterfield 4-0 Doncaster, Sunderland 0-5 Celtic demonstrate this. I've seen us have brilliant pre-seasons then everything go to pot once the season started, and vice versa. 4 years ago we won 3-2 at rotherham in out final friendly, it didn't help us as we lost 4-0 to Wigan first game of the season. And it's a long season. Even if we don't start brilliantly, there's loads of time for the team to get to grips and start playing at their best!
Really. Looking forward to it. It's a long time we've shopped away from the bargain basement. I'm certain that was these new players bed in we will see exciting times
It could well be, but a bigger problem is the company we're now mixing in. Like someone else said, we're probably a yo yo club at best. In terms of finances, yeah we could chuck a bit more money at it or bring in numbers for the sake of numbers and still be nowhere near.